East Slopes Central

Stormy weather will impact the Cascades. Unfortunately, not much new snow is in the forecast for the east slopes of the Cascades. Avalanches will be unlikely on Monday, but you can expect very challenging travel on icy surfaces. Use caution and bring equipment to prevent uncontrollable slides. 

A storm will bring light snow to the Cascades on Monday. Unfortunately, most of the snow will fall west of the crest, resulting in primarily cold, cloudy, and windy conditions for the east slopes of the Cascades. Areas near the crest will have the best chance of picking up a few inches of snow, and you may find mini wind slabs near ridges at upper elevations. But harsh travel conditions on icy crusts will likely be the most significant hazard on Monday. Drastically cooler weather will probably prevent these surfaces from softening in the afternoon so bring appropriate equipment to avoid uncontrollable slides on steep slopes.

In some locations near the crest, weak faceted snow may exist above or beneath a crust from late January. We haven't seen avalanches on this layer yet in this zone, but an observer reported a very large collapse at 4,000ft near Eightmile Lake on Thursday. This persistent weak layer is still the likely culprit in recent avalanches in the East North zone. In East Central, there is uncertainty on if this layer survived the prolonged warm temperatures. But since it is only 1-2ft deep, it's worth digging down to identify and evaluate them. Likely locations are sheltered northern aspects at mid to high elevations. Look for weak, sugary snow over a firm melt-freeze crust.